Nancy enjoying the predator -free waters in Litchfield Nat'l Park
We said our farewells to the Koolpin Gorge Lakes, even while wishing we had more time. From here we head out of Kakadu Nat'l Park, swing south to some birding areas and then back north to Litchfield Nat'l Park
We couldn't get over the cute little rainbow pittas! When we first got here, we would always look up in the forest canopy trying to find the birds. Now we know these guys bop around on the forest floor, with their iridescent blue shoulder patch glowing in the shade of the understory.
Just a random beautiful orchid we found next to a moist seep.
Bedded sandstone conglomerate. Some of the conglomerates here were massive - major flood events in the distant past.
Any Guesses?
Would you believe opalescent feathers of a straw-necked ibis?
And farther away, the whole bird.
A red-winged parrot, staying high in the trees, far away from the photog.
Rainbow bee-eaters were common, colorful, relatively insensitive to proximity...
..and easy to take photos of!
Litchfield is known for waterfalls, swim-able pools and creeks. We had hoped to drive a 4wd road on the west side with multiple river crossings but were running short on time. Instead we went to more accessible areas and hiked through some impressive terrain.
It was difficult to stay out of the water since it was so hot and the cool, emerald green pools were so alluring. Especially since there weren't crocodiles in Litchfield (as far as we knew!).
Magnetic termite mounds--aligned north-south to minimize exposure to the sun for built-in temperature control. Those bugs are no dummies!
A big ol' cathedral termite mound. We didn't realize there were so many different kinds of termites. They are quite industrious, I'd say! This was reportedly a few hundred years in the making - and grass eaters to boot!
While having dinner, or breakfast or second breakfast, on occasion Nancy would hear the dreaded "ummm, Nancy, don't move..."
these guys are fast!
A camp of Flying foxes (fruit bats). There's several species of these bats here. We like to hear their squawky-chattery conversations with each other.
A startling bright-red dragonfly
Our last campsite in the NT - all the creature comforts (except a fan - bad move that).
The aboriginal calendar - six seasons a year.
Part of the life is meeting deadlines - even on vacation. I had a conference paper revision due during our time in Kakadu so I worked every night, sitting in the heat in the truck in camp on the laptop after dark. Nancy finally had enough and we stopped at a butterfly garden/teahouse (with Internet) and told me to just get it done so I would quit fretting...
Nancy toured the butterfly garden while Dirk submitted his paper at the internet cafe.
And drank a milkshake to beat the heat. Except milkshakes here are -- milkshakes. We didn't realize it was abnormal (i.e. American) to expect ice cream in a milkshake. I guess we didn't think they'd be so literal here!
We went searching for one last bird before leaving Darwin. I was peering up into the trees in looming darkness of a city park, and people were looking at me like I was an idiot. Of course they're always the last place you look (!), but we finally heard him--a barking owl! He sounded *just* like a dog. I found him in the gloom with my super binos, and then he swooped away...our trip to NT was over, and we were treated to a tropical glowing pink sunset.
